Method and user interface for creating, specifying and adjusting motion picture transitions

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for editing transitions between sequences of video frames, generally including simultaneously displaying the frames in the first and second sequences that are at the beginning of the transition, and the frames in the first and second sequences that are at the end of the transition. The position of two of the four frames may be altered in their respective sequence to redefine the transition in response to a move command. Move commands may include center positioning commands, beginning commands, and end commands. The rate of change within the transition may also correspond to a predefined film characteristic.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/049,028,filed Apr. 16, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,348 entitled METHOD ANDUSER INTERFACE FOR CREATING, SPECIFYING AND ADJUSTING MOTION PICTURETRANSITIONS and now Pending.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to systems and methods for editing andcomposing motion picture material, and more particularly to operationson transitions between scenes in such material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In assembling individual motion picture (i.e., film or video) scenesinto larger compositions, the scenes are linked together by transitions.Most transitions are simple cuts, but a significant number are otherforms of gradual transitions. These include dissolves (or cross-fades),wipes, and various specialized transitions such as blends, rotations andpeels.

In a dissolve, a first scene is gradually dimmed while a second scene isgradually brightened, so that the viewer sees the transition as acontinuous shift from the first scene to the second scene. During all ofthe types of gradual transition effect, as the term is to be understoodin the context of this application, the first scene and second are bothvisible to some extent at the same time. For example, in a wipe, part ofthe second scene is displayed in a portion of the first scene, and thisportion is gradually made larger until the second scene occupies theentire display area.

Preparing gradual transitions using 35 mm motion picture film isgenerally performed by specialized laboratories. 16 mm transitions areprepared using a technique called A-B rolling, in which two prints ofthe film are prepared with alternating scenes and then combined to yieldthe gradual transitions. Both of these techniques usually require thefilm to be conveyed to a processing laboratory in order to generate thetransition in final form.

Video editing and composition systems also allow for the creation oftransitions. In these systems, it is known to specify a gradualtransition by its centerpoint. By centerpoint is meant the point in timewithin the transition half way between the beginning and end of thetransition. The editor manipulates the transition much like a cut, butupon playback, the transition begins before the centerpoint, and endsafter the centerpoint. The user may also manually generate thetransition using an effects bar control, which is a control lever thatoften resembles a joystick. This allows the user to control the rate atwhich the transition takes place. These manually-generated transitionprofiles may also be stored.

It is also known to display a series of independent monitors with thematerial from the first scene above a second series of independentmonitors with the material from the second scene. In the top row, eachmonitor shows a successive frame of the first scene, and in the bottomrow, each monitor shows a corresponding successive frame of the secondscene. This system may allow the user to view several frames from eachscene in a transition simultaneously. The Montage Picture Processorsystem, available from Montage R&D Corp. of Littleton, Mass. uses thisapproach.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the invention pertains to the editing of transitions betweensequences of video frames, This includes simultaneously displaying theframes in the first and second sequences at the beginning of thetransition, and the frames in the first and second sequences at the endof the transition, The position of two of the four frames may then bealtered in their respective sequence to redefine the transition inresponse to move commands. The rate of change within the transition mayalso correspond to a predefined film characteristic.

The transition editing method of the invention allows for efficient,versatile and precise editing of motion picture source material. Becausethe first and last frames of the two scenes in the transition are bothshown, it is easy for the user to see material that is not intended tobe part of the transition. Such material may include booms, slates,microphones and the like. These unintended events might otherwise behard to see, especially at the edges of the transitions where one of thescenes may be quite dim. The controls and displays of the invention arealso meaningfully and efficiently laid out. The film-matching transitionfeature of the invention allows an editor to edit video tape usingtransitions that are similar to film transitions, to achieve a morefilm-like effect on a video copy. This enables the user to accuratelypreview material on the computer that is ultimately to be printed onfilm, without the cost and delay of laboratory work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with otherand further objects, advantages and capabilities thereof, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein byreference and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a motion picture composing system accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an exemplary interface screen for the system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a transition;

FIG. 4 is an alternative embodiment of display portions of the screen ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sketch of a response curve for photographic film plottingdensity of pigmentation against level of illumination;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transition using the film of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary motion picture composition system 10according to the invention includes a transition display module 12, aplayer module 14, and a timeline display module 16. A data path 11 linksa storage unit 18 with these modules. This data path may be broken downinto several data lines 13, 15, 17. These data lines may be dedicated todifferent synchronized media channels, such as video, audio, andcomposition channels. These lines need not be separate physical lines.An input data path relays user input from a user input device 20, suchas a pointing device, to the transition display module. The transitiondisplay module 12 relays transition display window information totransition display windows 32, 34, 36, 38 (see FIG. 2). The transitiondisplay module also relays transition information 21 to the playermodule 14, which will enable the player module to play back the entiretransition on a transition playback display window 40. The timelinedisplay module generates timeline information to be displayed on thedisplay as a pair of timelines 42, 44. The timeline display module alsoprovides information about user-initiated changes of transitions to thetransition display module.

A system according to the invention may be developed using a variety oftypes of computer systems. In one embodiment, an Apple Macintosh and the"C" computer language were used, but naturally the invention should notbe read to be limited to this particular platform. The transitiondisplay module 12, player module 14 and timeline display module 16 maybe implemented in software and/or hardware and may or may not becontained within the computer system. A software package entitled "AvidMedia Composer", available from Avid Technology, Inc. of Tewksbury,Mass. includes some of these features. The storage may include ahigh-speed, high-capacity internal magnetic hard disk drive. For furtherinformation on computer-based media storage and playback of video andaudio information, see Peters et al., "VIDEO AND AUDIO TRANSMISSIONSYSTEM AND METHOD", U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,940, issued Sep. 3, 1991, hereinincorporated by reference.

Referring to FIG. 2, the display interface 30 presented by thecomposition system to the user includes a series of four transitiondefinition display windows 32, 34, 36, 38. The interface also includes atransition playback display window 40, a coarse timeline 42, a finetimeline 44, a command bar 46, and a mode bar 48.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the transition between a first scene "A" 50and a second scene "B" 52 begins where a first frame position 54 startsto include material from both of the scenes. In the case of a dissolve,this first frame position will show a frame 56 from the first scene atthe same time as a frame 58 from the second scene. In this first frameposition, the frame from the first scene will be displayed much morebrightly than the frame from the second scene. As the dissolvecontinues, frames from the first scene will become dimmer as frames fromthe second scene become brighter. At a final frame position, a lastframe 62 from the first scene will be displayed much more dimly than thecorresponding frame 64 from the second scene. This type of transition issymbolized by a diagonal line 57 representing this gradual shift.

The transition definition display windows each correspond to framepositions either at the beginning 54 or the end 60 of the transition..The first window 32 of FIG. 2 displays the first frame 56 from thefirst scene in the transition. The second window 34 displays the lastframe 62 from the first scene in the transition. The third window 36displays the first frame 58 from the second scene in the transition. Thefourth window displays the last frame 64 from the second scene in thetransition.

In operation, a user of the composing system of the invention will firstmanipulate the coarse timeline 42 to determine the rough area in whichthe transition is to be added. The user may then manipulate the finetimeline 44 to define a precise position for the edit. Using a mouse orother computer input device, the user may select two scenes to bedisplayed and place them in a composing area 45 of the timeline. To thencreate a gradual transition, the user may select one of a series oftransition types and drag it to a position between the two scenes on thecomposition track 45 of the timeline. The system thereafter displays thetransition as a transition control box 49.

The user may then drag the transition start control line 70 to move thestart of the transition earlier or later in time. Similarly, the usermay move the end transition control line 72 to end the transitionearlier or later in time. In moving the transition start line 70, thefirst transition display window 32 will display an earlier frame of thefirst scene. The third transition window 36 will also display an earlierframe of the second sequence. Moving the transition end control line 72similarly affects the second 36 and fourth 38 transition displaywindows.

The user may also move the central transition position 53 of the firstscene. This may be done by manipulating the central transition commandline 77 on the fine timeline. When the user moves the center of thetransition for the first scene in this way, the first and secondtransition display windows 32, 34 are updated correspondingly, but thethird and fourth transition display windows do not change. This allowsthe user to start the transition at a different time within the firstscene.

Similarly, the user may move the center control for the second scene.This may be done with the central transition command line 77 modified bya mode control. In response to this command, the third transitiondisplay window 36 and the fourth transition display window 38 will beupdated, leaving the first and second transition display windows 32, 34unchanged. This allows the user to change the point in the second sceneat which the transition begins. The user may also move both transitioncenters at the same time, in a similar manner. The user may play thewhole transition on the playback display window at any time, undercontrol of the command bar 46.

Referring to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the invention alsoincludes four transition display windows and a playback window. In thisembodiment, however, a series of four button bars 80, 82, 84, 86 areprovided in a pattern surrounding the display windows. A button bar isan area of the screen containing "buttons" or control areas, whichrespond to user input from a pointing device.

The first button bar 80 is placed above the first and second transitiondisplay windows and centered on a line roughly between them. The secondbutton bar 82 is placed below the third and fourth transition displaywindows and centered on a line roughly between them. The third buttonbar is placed to the left of the first and third transition displaywindows and centered on a line roughly between them. The fourth buttonbar is placed to the right of the second and fourth transition displaywindows and centered on a line roughly between them. This arrangementand the corresponding functionality allow for efficient editing and areeasy to understand.

The button bars may each include a series of control icons or buttons.In one embodiment, each button bar includes four buttons 90, 92, 94, 96.A first 90 of these buttons is a single frame advance button, whichpermits the user to step through the motion picture material to bedisplayed one frame at a time. A second button 92 is a multiple frameadvance button, which allows the user to advance through the material ata rate of approximately 0.3 seconds per actuation. Conversely, a singleframe reverse button 94 and multiple frame reverse button 96 are alsoprovided. Other controls may also be provided on the button bars, asdiscussed later in the present specification.

The first button bar 80 controls the centerpoint of the transition forthe first scene, and the second button bar 82 controls the centerpointof the transition for the second scene. The third button bar 84 controlsthe start of the transition for both scenes, and the fourth button bar86 controls the end of the transition for both scenes. By clicking onthe button bars, the user may therefore quickly adjust the parameters ofthe transition.

Other control arrangements are possible. For example, one button barmight be provided for each of the transition display windows, allowingthe user to manipulate the position of each frame position individually.

According to another aspect of the invention, the composition system cancompensate for non-linearities in film response. Referring to FIG. 5,the density of pigmentation 101 of film resulting from a given exposurelevel 103 varies in a non-linear manner. The response curve for such afilm generally includes what are known in the art as a toe portion 100and a shoulder portion 102 in its deviation from an ideal response 104.Curves for specific film types are usually available from motion picturefilm manufacturers.

In the generation of a transition, the ends of the scene to be used inthe transition are generally printed by exposing them to linearlyincreasing levels of light. Because the film responds to light in anon-linear way, the resulting transition 106 will also be non-linear, asillustrated in FIG. 6. These transitions start out with a low rate ofchange from the first scene to the second scene. The rate of change thenincreases, and finally tapers off towards the end of the transition.This effect is generally absent in electronically-generated videotransitions.

The non-linear transition characteristics of film, however, can be morepleasing to the eye. Furthermore, it is often advantageous to performthe bulk of the editing of a piece using a computerized compositionsystem and then transfer the edits to a final film copy. It is thereforeuseful to provide transitions in the composition system that willsimulate the ultimate effect on film.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage 18 of the composition system 10may hold a series of response curve data tables for various types offilm. When using the system, the user may select one of these tables fora desired film type to adjust the parameters of the transition to beplayed back on the display interface 30. The system then retrievesvalues from the selected table and determines from them the relativeintensities for concurrently displaying frames from the first and secondscenes during the transition. For example, in the beginning of thetransition of FIG. 6, frames from the first scene will be displayed morebrightly relative to the first scene than they would in a lineartransition. This is because the intensity of the first frames of thefirst scene are being affected by the table values corresponding to theshoulder portion 102 of the selected film's response, and the intensityof the first frames of the second scene are being affected by the tablevalues corresponding to the toe portion 100 (see FIG. 5).

A system according to the invention may also permit motion in thetransition display windows. This allows editors to define these pointsin a dynamic fashion. For example, certain moving scenes are easier toedit while the editor is perceiving the tempo of the scene. In anembodiment permitting these types of dynamic transition editingfunctions, further buttons may be provided on the button bars, such asbuttons having play, fast forward, rewind, jog and shuttle functions. Itis noted that the four transition display windows need not display thefirst and last frames of the transition, but instead may display theframes immediately preceding and immediately following the transition.

The system according to the invention also permits versatile editingoperations on the soundtrack of motion picture material. Although thistype of transition only affects audio information, it can be specifiedeasily using the transition display windows. For example, the user mightwant to create the effect of a door opening with a train outside of thedoor. With the system of the invention, the user may create this effectby defining a transition on one or more of the audio tracks of thematerial from background room sounds to train noise. This transition maybe defined to start at the first frame in which the door starts to open,which is easily found using the transition display windows.

While there have been shown and described what are at present consideredthe preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for editing a composition including aplurality of motion picture scenes, wherein a first individual one ofthe motion picture scenes and a second individual one of the motionpicture scenes are separated by a plurality of frames, the methodcomprising:simultaneously displaying four frames in separate displayareas, the four frames including corresponding frames from two of thescenes at the end of the first scene and corresponding frames from twoof the scenes at the beginning of the second scene, responding to a movecommand, and altering, in response to the move command, the position intheir respective scenes from which two of the four frames are displayedin the step of simultaneously displaying to redefine the composition. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of frames is made up of afirst series of frames of decreasing intensity from the first scene anda second series of frames of increasing intensity from the second scene,wherein frames from the first series and second series are displayed atthe same time to form a dissolve scene, and wherein the step of alteringalters the length of the dissolve.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein thestep of responding to a move command is relative to a selected one ofthe four of the frames, and the step of altering alters the position ofthe selected one of the four frames in its scene to redefine thecomposition.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the method furtherincludes the step of dynamically displaying one of the scenes in one ofthe display areas and wherein the step of responding to a move commandincludes responding to a command during the step of dynamicallydisplaying.
 5. The media composing system of claim 1 wherein the step ofaltering affects only audio information associated with the first andsecond scenes.
 6. The media composing system of claim 1 wherein the stepof simultaneously displaying displays the four frames without dimmingany of the four frames.
 7. A media editing system for editing acomposition including a first individual motion picture scene and asecond individual motion picture scene separated by a plurality offrames, comprising:storage for the first and second scenes and theplurality of frames, a user input device, four separate display areas, adisplay module responsive to the storage and the user input device, toretrieve and simultaneously display in the separate display areas fourframes, the four frames including corresponding frames from two of thescenes at the end of the first scene and corresponding frames from twoof the scenes at the beginning of the second scene, and means foraltering, in response to a move command, the position in theirrespective scenes from which two of the four frames are displayed toredefine the composition.
 8. The media composing system of claim 7wherein the user input device includes a pointing device.
 9. The mediacomposing system of claim 7 wherein the display module includes meanscapable of affecting only audio information associated with the firstand second scenes.
 10. The media composing system of claim 7 wherein thedisplay module is for simultaneously displaying the four frames withoutdimming any of the four frames.
 11. The media composing system of claim7 wherein:the display module includes means to define a dissolve betweenthe first and second scenes, and the user input device includes apointing device.
 12. The media composer of claim 7 wherein the means foraltering is responsive to a first center positioning command to definethe position of the center of the plurality of frames relative to thefirst scene, a second center positioning command to define the center ofthe plurality of frames relative to the second scene, a beginningcommand to define the beginning of the plurality of frames, and an endcommand to define the end of the plurality of frames.
 13. The mediacomposer of claim 7 wherein the means for responding to a move commandincludes means for responding to a command from a plurality of buttonbars surrounding the separate display areas.
 14. The media composer ofclaim 7 wherein the display module is operative to display the pluralityof frames made up of a first series of frames of decreasing intensityfrom the first scene and a second series of frames of increasingintensity from the second scene, wherein frames from the first seriesand second series are displayed at the same time to form a dissolvescene, and wherein the means for altering is for altering the length ofthe dissolve.